


Stay for dinner, stay forever

by Kiraly



Category: Stand Still Stay Silent
Genre: F/M, Ficlet, Fluff, Kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-09-26 03:06:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20382646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiraly/pseuds/Kiraly
Summary: Berit sends Aksel to ask Sigrun for dinner. They're pretty sure she has something else in mind.





	Stay for dinner, stay forever

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for a Synchronised Screaming prompt. This week the theme is "Starter Sentences", so basically the prompts all started with the first sentence of a story and we had to finish it. My prompt was:
> 
> _Any - The snows finally came in late December, just as the longest night approached. _

The snows finally came in late December, just as the longest night approached. Dalsnes disappeared beneath a clean white blanket practically overnight. On the surface, it looked the way it always had, like a holiday postcard come to life. Snow could cover up a lot: charred buildings, bloodstains, fresh graves. But hiding them didn’t make them go away.

With those cheerful thoughts to occupy her, Sigrun finished out her shift at the perimeter wall and started for home. She hoped her fire was still lit. If not, she’d be in for a cold night. The houses had been built to keep the cold out, but they’d also been built to run on electricity. 

A familiar figure was waiting at the inner wall. “Aksel?” She’d recognize that red hair anywhere, even in the gathering dusk. “I thought you were off duty tonight.”

“Sigrun!” His smile came through despite the scarf wrapped around the lower half of his face. “I am, I was looking for you. Grandma sent me.” 

They fell into step, kicking up sprays of powder as they walked. “Berit asked for me? Is something wrong?” The cold bothered Berit’s joints, keeping her inside and away from guard duty. But she was still more than capable of overseeing the town’s defense. 

“Oh! Uh, no, it’s nothing like that.” A blush crept above Aksel’s scarf. “She just...wanted me to invite you for dinner.”

Knowing Berit, the instruction had probably been something along the lines of “Ask that girl for dinner and also to bear your children”. Berit was an invaluable resource to the community, but subtle she was not.

Sigrun’s suspicions solidified when they reached the Eide house and Berit opened the door. “There you are! I was worried you’d decided to sneak off somewhere. Don’t just stand there Puppy, step aside so that poor girl can get in and get warm.”

It was a relief to be out of the wind. The roaring fire in the hearth did wonders for her mood, too. The Eides always kept a blaze going, partly for Berit’s joints and partly because their house had become a hub for meetings and planning sessions. It wasn’t uncommon to find half a dozen or so people gathered around the kitchen table, poring over scout reports and maps and supply lists.

Tonight it was just the three of them, though. Berit bustled around, alternately tending a pot of stew and fussing at the two of them.

“Coats on the hook—don’t worry about the snow, dear, it’ll mop right up. Are your boots keeping your feet dry? Aksel, be a dear and get her another pair of socks. Or a sweater—I find my outer layers always get damp in this weather, and we can’t have that, can we? Maybe you’d better go with him, Sigrun, you can show him what you need. This stew needs a few minutes, you’ll have plenty of time to warm up while you wait.”

It was all Sigrun could do to bite back her laughter until she and Aksel were in the relative privacy of his bedroom. One look at his face and she gave up on holding it in. “Oh my  _ god.  _ She’s so  _ determined!  _ How did you survive this long without getting tied up and forcibly married off?”

Aksel sank onto the bed and buried his face in his hands. “I am SO sorry. I don’t know why she does this! She never did before all the—well, you know.”

Sigrun sat down beside him. “I guess she’s hoping for great-grandchildren. But honestly, you’d think she’d be more observant. Practically shoving the two of us into your bedroom to ‘find a sweater’, and she didn’t even notice that I’m already  _ wearing  _ one of yours.” 

“Oh, yeah. I wondered where that was.” Aksel unbent enough to look up at her and lay a hand on her sleeve. “I happen to like that sweater, you know. Don’t think this means you get to keep it.”

“What are you going to do, take it off me?” Sigrun poked a finger into his chest, then slowly trailed it upward until she reached his chin. “I would love to see you try.”

Aksel swallowed hard. “Sigrun. My  _ grandmother  _ is right on the other side of that wall!” 

“And she’d probably be  _ delighted  _ if we got up to something.” Sigrun pulled her finger back though, and settled her hands on his shoulders instead. “One of these days we should just tell her.”

“If we do,” Aksel said, wrapping his arms around her, “She won’t stop until those great-grandchildren are a reality. Are you prepared for that?”

Sigrun wasn’t. She knew Aksel wasn’t either—there was too much work to do, too many ways things could go wrong. Either one of them could be the next in the ground, waiting beneath the snow for spring to come. So for now, other things had to wait.

“At least then she’d stop trying to set us up,” Sigrun said. “Although it kind of works to our advantage, doesn’t it?” She threaded her hands in his hair. “I get to be alone with you.”

Aksel smiled, and when Sigrun stretched up for a kiss, he met her halfway. Between one thing and another, it took them a long time to find Sigrun a new sweater. But if Berit noticed, she didn’t mention it. She simply served them stew and said that Sigrun was welcome to come for dinner anytime she liked. 


End file.
